====== 12 The Black Spike ======

==== 11am Outside ====

<div right tip>Session \\ 2010-04-13</div>

The adventurers find themselves outside, with a dark, threatening sky overhead.  They stand just inside a huge, ashen crater of a semi-dormant volcano.  The walls of the crater climb steeply up on all sides.  In the center of the bowl stands a tower--it looks like a giant, black spike driven into the ground.  Fissures radiate out from the spike for tens of feet in the floor of the crater--the air is acrid from the molten lava bubbling within.

The party begins by scouting the perimeter of the crater, only to be set upon by wave after wave of wights.

==== 12pm Admantium door ====

<div right tip>Session \\ 2010-07-13</div>

The party finally fights its way through to a bridge over lava.  At the end of the bridge is an intelligent door blocking access to the tower.  The adventurers are unable to bluff their way in so [[Smike]] tries a //knock// -- the door resists and //feebleminds// him in return.  The party retreats and rests while trying to think of another way in.

===== May 3 =====

==== 8am Peer ====

Party waits till dawn so [[Vistria]] can break the enchantment on [[Smike]].  [[Smike]] detects the door's thoughts -- it's thinking about [[Tychon]], it's boss -- but can't figure out how to take advantage of the information.  Plan B: [[Chikurin]] & [[Smike]] invisibly climb up tower but evil essence disgusts them and they are forced back down.  Plan C: [[Chikurin]] rusts a 3-foot hemisphere of wall directly above door but still doesn't get through.  Plan D: [[Khouhn]] gets impatient and attacks door -- brute force eventually succeeds where cunning failed.

<div right tip>Session \\ 2010-08-03</div>

As party contends with door [[Tak]] receives telepathic message from [[Pthia]]: she's sending a mercenary to help.  [[Peer]] arrives by teleportation, brings a key to give to [[Smike]].

Directly behind the door the party is attacked by two huge dragon-like lizards with surgically-implanted armour, breathing acid and electricity.  [[Peer]] swallowed whole but cuts his way out.  Then [[Tak]] is swallowed by blue [[dracosaurus]] -- [[Chikurin]] //baleful polymorphs// it and party kills.  They cut [[Tak]] (unconscious) from the remains.  

<div right tip>Session \\ 2010-09-11</div>

Our heroes eventually defeat the second [[dracosaurus]] but are left weak and fatigued.  [[Chikurin]] explores ahead, discovers more enemies.  Party tries to rest at current position to regroup.  Each is plagued by disturbing nightmares of a [[hag]] and can't recuperate -- rest is impossible in this unholy place.

==== 12pm Torture ====

[[Peer]] discovers a button on a stud behind a false wall.  [[Smike]], curious about the lingering magic he sees surrounding the button, presses it and disappears.  The rest of the party reluctantly each press the button, hoping they are simply following [[Smike]] to another location.  Luckily, they are correct.  [[Khouhn]] guesses they have translocated down to a sublevel.  Torture devices fill the room, with tubes of black ooze feeding from each device.  A brute is torturing a victim in one of the devices.

<div right tip>Session \\ 2010-09-19</div>

The party intervenes -- [[Vistria]] tries to free the victim but suffers severe, unnatural burns as the black ooze bubbles on her skin.  Eventually our heroes knock the torturer unconscious when he refuses to free the prisoners.  They are able to free the prisoners themselves and find one of them is [[Varachan]] -- he is mortally injured and dies before them.  [[Khouhn]], moved by [[Varachan]]'s suffering, flies into a rage and kills the torturer.  [[Peer]] frees the other prisoners (a female human [[Tammy]], a female orc [[Jare]], and a male human monk [[Urdoso]]) while [[Chikurin]] reincarnates [[Varachan]].

[[Varachan]], [[Tammy]], and [[Jare]] leave to alert the [[Cannoness]].  [[Urdoso]] stays with party to continue on after rest.

===== May 4 =====

==== 7am Back to the Spike ====

Party returns to the [[Black Spike]] to recover the item of [[pure good]] before teleporting.  An unholy priest sees them coming and creates a [[blade wall]] at the entrance as [[Khouhn]] dives through.  [[Tak]] follows.  Party defeats priest and proceed upstairs to search.  They don't find the item they seek but instead 10 draughts of a potion "the colour of whispers".  

{{ http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG48.jpg}}

Our intrepid heroes are besot with danger.  First a group of winged demons -- vrocks -- that shoot spores at [[Khouhn]], [[Tak]], & [[Peer]].  Next, their minds are assailed by an unknown creature within the stone cone in the center of the room.  [[Tak]] is driven mad, only barely controlled by [[Khouhn]], as party retreats downstairs.  Eventually, [[Tak]] breaks free of [[Khouhn]]'s grip, attacks a portal he encounters, and disappears.  Reluctantly, the party follows through the portal into the unknown.  [Where did portal take them? - Rik] 

The party catches up to [[Tak]] and eventually [[Vistria]] is able to heal him.  They proceed downwards and find a rock that turns into a key.  On the second sublevel they find a map of the continent in the floor.

<div right tip>Session \\ 2010-11-28</div>

While studying the map a stone statue comes alive and attacks [[Peer]] with writhing tentacles.  Eventually we overcome and it breaks into rubble.

==== 10am Deeper into the spike ====

Party uses cone and round incense shapes to open one-way portal to Mariah's temple.  We reconnect with [[Pthia]] who insists that [[Khouhn]]'s and [[Tak]]'s grafted arms be surgically amputated to prevent corruption.  Surgery is successful and their original arms are regenerated.

<div right tip>Session \\ 2010-12-20</div>

We continue down -- [[Pthia]] joining us -- to find a library containing a powerful, evil magic tome.  [[Chikurin]] leaves a fire trap on it.  The next level down contains only a magic lectern with horrible carvings and filled with a foul liquid.  [[Pthia]] detects a good object in the liquid.  We are able to fish it out -- it is the [[Talisman of Pure Good]]!
  * it can only be wielded by (divine) good
  * not many charges left
  * it banishes evil?

<div round warning>Much missing stuff here.</div>

From [[Hederack]]'s Second Journal:
<div round box>
The [[Doomdreamers]] ended my Oblivion with a final quest to atone for my failure with dealing with the intruders.  [[Tharzidun]] swallow their soul!  I am to go to the [[Black Cyst]] to get the [[Rod of Force]] and the [[Rings of Force Armour]] and bring it to the [[Champion]] at the [[Temple of Elemental Evil]].  Praise be the Final Oblivion!  It is night at last!

In other happiness, while getting ready to depart I found the source of the incessant croaking and dealt with it a most amusing way.
</div>
===== May 4 =====

==== 1pm ====

<div right tip>Session \\ 2011-03-06</div>

  * [[Pthia]] questions [[Mariah]]
  * [[Tak]] works out how to get [[Orb of Silvery Death]] -- kneel down in front of stone platform and say [[Tharzidun]]'s name
  * need [[power gems]] to fully power orb
  * [[Tak]], inspired, uses incense to produce smoke.  Cloud moves us back to [[Greater Temple]] in [[Outer Fane]]
  * from there we go to [[map room]] and teleport back to [[Hommlet]]
  * [[Calmer]] finds us and tells us the [[Cannoness]] is holding council.  We follow

